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Digging for humanity's origins - Louise Leakey

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Louise Leakey asks, "Who are we?" The question takes her to the Rift Valley in Eastern Africa, where she digs for the evolutionary origins of humankind -- and suggests a stunning new vision of our competing ancestors.

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Louise Leakey hunts for hominid fossils in East Africa, in the family tradition.Bonobo, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan; the other is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee. Although the name "chimpanzee" is sometimes used to refer to both species together, it is usually understood as referring to the common chimpanzee, while Pan paniscus is usually referred to as the bonobo.Kamoya Kimeu, (born c. 1940) is one of the world's most successful fossil collectors who, together with paleontologists Meave Leakey and Richard Leakey, is responsible for some of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries. Kimeu found a Homo habilis skull known as KNM ER 1813, and an almost complete Homo erectus skeleton named KNM-WT 15000 or Turkana Boy (also known as Nariokotome boy).Here's a playlist of TED Talks that revolve around the theme of evolution.

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  • Speaker Louise Leakey

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